The News from ElephantToenails.com

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Case XX Greenbone

Did you notice the recent eBay auction of the Case XX? One heck of an auction for one jewel of a toenail!

Greenbone Case XX are rare- much more common are the redbones. Greenbones are believed to have been made in the early XX era. This seller reported it to have been made between 1040- 1955. I can go for that.

It had very active bidding with 34 bids. The final sales price was $853.

I posted it in Recent Sales.

With all the goings-on in each of our lives, it is hard to keep up with, well, all the goings-on. So, I wanted to provide you the results of the three toenails sold last week in the J Bruce Voyles Auction.

• Lot 128- Case 7 Dot (”mint, except for a spiderweb or two”): $80
• Lot 249- Case Brothers (”very good, except pen blade repinned”): $232
• Lot 256- Cattaraugus (”excellent,” except for handle chips): $212

Granted, these three toenails may not have been “pristine mint”- but most old knives aren’t anyway; these prices seemed to be good deals.

I know there is a very cautious attitude most collectors of vintage knives take to buying “online,” but even still, I wouldn’t say that in and of itself would cause knives to sell below their true worth. While I didn’t see these knives in person, and do note the “condition description” provided, the Case Bros and Catt seemed to sell for less than they should have.